NBA icon Dwyane Wade recalls reconsidering his status as a “cool dad” after seeing how terrified his daughter Zaya was about coming out as transgender to him.
At the CAA Amplify Summit event in Ojai, Calif. on Tuesday, Wade, 41, opened up about his daughter’s transition and coming out, revealing that he had long suspected she was a member of the LGBTQ+ community, according to The , before officially coming out to the Hollywood Reporter.
When she was just eight years old, Zaya revealed in a school assignment that she was gay, according to Buzzfeed News.
A few years later, Zaya came out as transgender to her family, but Wade was saddened to see how afraid she was to speak to him.
“I came home and all I remember is that my daughter — my kid — was afraid to talk to me like she was hiding in the armrest of my wife’s chair,” he said. “I guess I’m just the dad who says, ‘Hey, come on and tell me everything. I’m a cool dad.”
‘I had to look at myself in the mirror’: NBA icon Dwyane Wade recalls reconsidering his status as a ‘cool dad’ after seeing how terrified his daughter Zaya was about coming out to him
However, the fear Zaya expressed prompted Wade to re-examine himself.
“Because maybe I’m not who I think I am.” “I didn’t do what I think I did,” he said. “The first moment I saw that – and I had a conversation about it yesterday – I had to look at myself in the mirror and ask why my child was afraid to tell me about themselves.”
Wade realized how much he had to learn as he navigated social media with Zaya during her transition and coming out.
The former Miami Heat player said there was “so much I didn’t know about my kid and so much education was needed.”
He also described how integral the communication was between him and his daughter, with research giving Zaya a wealth of information about what she was doing.
Wade, in turn, says it made him a better listener because he followed his daughter’s example in terms of her identity.
“I think the hardest thing about it is shutting out the world and shutting out the people who don’t actually belong to the circle but have an opinion,” he said.
Family: Wade with wife Gabrielle Union and daughters Zaya and Kaavia
The star’s unveiling comes after Wade relocated his family from Florida due to the state’s anti-LGBTQ policies.
During an interview with journalist, anchorman and NBA reporter Rachel Nichols on her show Headliners, Wade explained why, despite being a celebrated personality, he chose to leave the state he called home.
“You know, of course the taxes are great. Having Wade County is great. But my family would neither be accepted nor comfortable there. And that’s one of the reasons I don’t live there,” he explained.
“A lot of people don’t know that.” “I have to make decisions for my family, not just personal, individual decisions.”
Wade and Union accepted the prestigious President’s Award for their support of the LGBTQ+ community at the 54th Annual NAACP Awards in February.
Rising Star! Zaya is now a model and made her runway debut for Miu Miu earlier this year during Paris Fashion Week
In a powerful speech, the former basketball player addressed his daughter from the stage and praised her for dealing with “the ignorance in our world”.
“Zaya,” he began, “as your father, I just wanted to make it right.” I’ve sat back and watched you gracefully embrace public scrutiny, and while it’s not easy, I’ve watched you every morning when you left the house yourself.
The proud father continued, “I admire how you have dealt with the ignorance in our world.” I admire that you deal with it every day. To say your village is proud of you is an understatement.”
Concluding his remarks, the 13-time NBA All-Star said, “Zaya, you made me a better person just by being what you were born to be.” Our baby girl, Zaya Wade. Thank you for showing the world what courage looks like. I am proud to have been chosen to be your father. Thank you to the NAACP for this incredible honor.”
In August, Wade filed a motion to allow Zaya to legally change her gender and name from Zion Malachi Airami’s Wade to Zaya Malachi Airami’s Wade. Zaya has borne the name Zaya for two years.
Zaya’s biological mother, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, who was married to Dwyane from 2002 to 2007, previously said in court documents that she believes Wade “might pressure our child to go ahead with the name and gender change to take advantage of the financial opportunity.” ‘ which he received from companies.’
Taking a stand: The star’s unveiling comes after Wade relocated his family from Florida due to the state’s anti-LGBTQ policies
In her filed appeal, she said she wanted Zaya to wait until she was 18 to change her name and claimed that Wade pushed for the name change for business reasons.
“I am concerned that (Dwyane) may pressure our child to go ahead with the name and gender change to take advantage of the financial opportunities that companies have given them,” she said in her lawsuit.
She also cited a conversation in April in which she claimed Dwyane told her “a lot of money has already been made and there is more money being made in connection with our child’s name and gender issue.”
“[Dwyane]told me that he intended to make our child very famous due to the name and gender issue and also informed me that that would involve endorsement deals/deals,” she claimed.
Wade countered with his ex on Instagram at the time, criticizing her claims that he was exploiting her daughter, accusing her of “hurting her children” with her lawsuit and reminding the world of their bitter divorce battle in 2011 that led to his acquittal sole custody of their two children.
In February, Funches-Wade’s request was denied and Zaya was given permission to change her name and gender.
Ever since Zaya came out to her family — and then to the world — she’s been fully supportive of Wade. Not only did he lovingly accept his daughter’s sexual identity, but he also embarked on a journey with Union to learn as much as possible about the LGBTQ+ community.
Wade first revealed to the public in February 2020 that Zaya was transgender; Since then she has launched a huge career as a model and has become a rising social media star – with more than 603,000 followers on her Instagram account.
Wade explained that Zaya later told him and Union that she knew she was transgender since she was three, but that it took years of “research” before she was able to tell her loved ones.